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אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל בעבר הירדן במדבר בערבה מול סוף בין פארן ובין תפל ולבן וחצרות ודי זהב, “These are the words which Moses addressed to the whole of the people of Israel, on the east bank of the Jordan, in the desert, in the wilderness of Moav, opposite Suf, between Paran and Tafel; at Lavan, Chatzerot, and Dee Zahav.” The reason the Torah writes the word במדבר, is not to repeat that the people were in the desert, but to tell us that Moses rebuked the people for sins committed in the desert. Compare Psalms 78,40: “How often did they defy Him in the wilderness, did they grieve Him in the wasteland!” Concerning the expression בערבה, Rashi comments that the word is to be understood as בשביל הערבה, that on account of being in the wilderness they sinned at Baal Peor, Shittim, sins which occurred in the area described as ערבות מואב. The word מול סוף was meant as a reminder of the Israelites having said sarcastically at the ים סוף, the Sea of Reeds: “did you take us here to die because there was a shortage of burial places in Egypt?” The people again complained when moving away from the Sea of Reeds as we know from Psalms 106,7: “they rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Reeds.” The words בין פארן is an oblique reference to the episode of the spies; the words ובין תפל ולבן are references to the complaints uttered against the manna (Numbers 21,5) and the word חצרות is a reference to what occurred when Korach and his supporters rebelled, as well as to the inappropriate comments made by Miriam against her brother Moses. The words די זהב are a reference to the sin of the golden calf, a sin which was possible because they had a surfeit of gold. Compare Hoseah 2,10 who attributes sin to excess material wealth, “I who lavished silver on her and gold, which they used for the Baal.”

מול סוף OVER AGAINST SUPH — i.e. he reproved them regarding that in which they had shown themselves rebellious at the Red Sea (סוף): viz., on their arrival at the Red Sea — that they said, (Exodus 14:11) “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt [that thou hast brought us to die in the wilderness?]"; and similarly when they left the midst of the Sea, as it is said, (Psalms 106:7) “They murmured because of the Sea, at the Red Sea”, as it is related in Treatise Arakhin 15a (cf. Rashi on Numbers 14:22 and Sifrei 1:14).

הרק אך במשה, “was it only to Moses?” Miriam meant that if Moses separated from his wife because of G’d communicating with him, there was no such law pertaining to prophets. The word הרק אך are a double negative, each word meaning a diminution of something. The expression Miriam used was meant sarcastically, just as when the Israelites had said to Moses in Exodus 14,11: “are there not enough graves in Egypt that you had to take us to the desert to die?” The word במשה must be understood as parallel to גם בנו “also with us” (Miriam and Aaron). The preposition ב instead of אל or something similar is in order, seeing that the prophet views himself as G’d’s vessel. The word במשה may therefore more accurately be translated as “within Moses,” and the words גם בנו as “within us.” One of the clearest examples of such a construction is found in Genesis 6,3 לא ידון רוחי באדם לעולם, “My spirit will not rule within man forever.” In that verse G’d made it plain that man’s body is to be perceived as a vessel for his spirituality. The word ידון is related also to the word נדנה which occurs in Daniel 7,15 where it means “sheath.” The body is the sheath of the spirit.